Returning the Favor
by dramionelives
Summary: It was the kind of love that crept on you from the back and sucker punched you until you're dazed and infinite–the kind she felt when she saw Draco Malfoy sweaty, and shirtless. Hermione's thoughts during a snowy Christmas. ONE-SHOT, FLUFF!


**Returning the Favor**

**Author/Editor:** dramionelives  
**Notes:** Post-War, 7th Years return to Hogwarts for an 8th Year. Draco and Hermione are Heads. CANON/NON CANON (DM/HG, RW/PP, HP/GW)  
**A/N:** Hey everybody! Long time no talk. Some of you may remember me as the author of _Back in Red_, which was deleted, by the way. It just wasn't going for me anymore. I've decided to start writing on fanfiction again but because of my commitment issues, I'm going to take a shot at one-shots. I absolutely **LOVE **fluffy, cheesy one-shots that make me blush and giggle and smile like an idiot on crack so this is my attempt of it. Let me know what you think! R&R!

_ITALICS_ = Flashback Content

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters, settings, or concepts. JK Rowling, mothergod of all that is amazing owns.

* * *

All Hermione could do was stare.

The first snowflake landed on the tip of her nose and stayed, she felt it melt against her hot, flushed face. It was Christmas in Hogsmeade and she was alone, staring into the white void.

She felt alone.

Not in a bad way, however. It was a kind of loneliness that tickled the back of her mind, whispering doubts in her ear while the rest of her body was soaring, limitless. So the loneliness was tolerable, ignorable even. She wondered what Harry and Ron were doing at this very moment and stifled a silent chuckle that would have gone and died without anybody noticing. Harry would be sitting in Honeydukes with Ginny, smiling at her and drinking Hot Chocolate while she complained about her algorithms class. He would put his arm around her and wish her good luck and lots of love for the New Year and would kiss her on the forehead. And they would be so caught up in their happiness and love that they wouldn't notice they hadn't paid for their sweets yet.

Ron would be finding a way to lure Pansy Parkinson under a mistletoe branch, trying to outsmart her on their first date. Knowing Ron, he'd get their first kiss in the end, but only because Parkinson liked him _that_ much. Hermione felt a pang of sadness, reminding her of her loneliness as the doubts and whispers in her mind grew louder. She threw her head back and closed her eyes.

Ever since she and Ron had parted amicably months ago from a failed attempt of reconciliation, she had been single and free, and yet she watched all her friends every day, one step closer to fairytale love and she knew deep inside she was jealous – she wanted what she had read in romance novels – she wanted what Ron couldn't make her feel; a burning, hot, passionate love that consumes your mind and your soul, always on your mind, forever having captured your body. It was the type of love she saw in Ginny and Harry's eyes, or her parents' eyes. The kind of love that crept on you from the back and sucker punched you until you're dazed and infinite.

She had never felt it before.

Except once.

And her cheeks flushed blood red, her brown eyes sparkled and her lips couldn't resist lifting in a smile as she remembered that moment, forever imprinted in her mind.

* * *

"_MAL-FOY! MAL-FOY! MAL-FOY!" A rowdy group of green scarf-clad students cheered a boy with shaggy, platinum blonde hair, steel grey eyes and a face like Adonis. He grinned and a group of girls squealed as her punched the air with his fist and hollered along with the fans. _

"_Oh, please." Hermione rolled her eyes as she sat on the bleachers, semi watching the spectacle and semi reading. She couldn't concentrate, though. Not with all the raucous and the Slytherin testosterone so thick in the air it was threatening to suffocate her. _

"_Bloody gits." Ron mumbled next to her, fumbling to untie his scarf around his neck._

"_The only reason why they won was because Ferret Boy cheated. I swear I saw him whisper a spell mid-game, how else would he have gotten the snitch within ten minutes of the game?" Harry whispered. _

_Hermione scoffed. "You're nearly as bad as them, Harry. And Gryffindors weren't even the ones playing!"_

"''_Mione," Ron whined. "Don't tell us you find that egoistical ferret not as annoying as we do! He's been nothing but trouble since the war, ever since his bloody dad got off the hook he's been acting like he's the king of the world with nothing but freedom."_

"_Doesn't be absurd Ron," She sighed, exasperated. "I never said I didn't find that prat less insufferable as he was for the last seven years. I'm just saying, it looked like they won, fair and square."_

"_Damn straight we won fair and square," A voice drawled from above them and Hermione squinted at the new figure. _

_Malfoy. _

"_Sod off, prick. I'm not in the mood," She hissed and opened Hogwarts, a History again. _

"_Feisty aren't we, mudblood?" He grinned. _

"_You bloody–"Ron's face turned purple as he stood up, wand unsheathed. "Don't you dare call 'Mione that word again! Or I'll hex your balls off!"_

_Hermione groaned and buried her head in her book. "Merlin, can you guys just knock it off already? Ron, it's just a word, almost nothing to me now. Malfoy's just being his usual prick of himself, ignore him and he'll go away, like hives."_

_Malfoy's face recoiled with disgust from being compared to a rash. Ron smiled and sat down, satisfied with her advice while Harry laughed. _

"_Watch it Granger, or I'll sneak into your room tonight and change your uniforms to something more of my taste," He winked. "We do share dorms, you know."_

"_I'd like to see you try," She said dryly. "And as if my uniform isn't as close to your tastes these days, thanks to Ginny."_

_He grinned widely. "Ah yes, we must thank Weaselette for her generous modifications to your wardrobe, now,"_

_She hesitated in replying. Was she actually having a normal conversation with her fellow Head-Boy? _

"_Piss off, Malfoy. You're not wanted." Harry said, after a few moments of awkward silence. Ron sniggered next to him and for some reason; Hermione felt the need to defend Malfoy. _

_But she didn't. _

_She could feel his steel eyes boring into her for seconds before glancing away and shrugged, seemingly careless. "Don't want to be around filthy mudbloods anyways," He muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away with a slight slouch. _

_And for whatever reason, inside, Hermione felt hollow, like someone had stabbed her. _

"_Thank Merlin he's gone." Ron murmured. _

_Days passed and classes seemed to drag on. Hermione's Head Boy never seemed to be around except during late night studies in which they partook in together silently, ending with Hermione falling asleep and mysteriously waking up in her room. _

_One particular day, it was hot and shining and Hermione's room suddenly felt like a sauna – blisteringly warm and stuffy. She needed fresh air, so she gathered her books and changed into something cooler – shorts and a tank top. It was a Saturday and everybody was at Hogsmeade so she figured no one would see her in such Muggle inventions. _

_She sat in her usual spot on the bleachers, the very front ground row, and started to read. _

_ "The Wisteria-Lumos Flower is a special breed of flower specifically created from the offspring of a Wisteria Flower with a Lumos-spell activated upon twenty-two minutes and forty seven seconds before its bloom. The flower is purple during the day and is shaped like an ordinary tulip. At night, its petals open up and begin to glow. The Wisteria Lumos flower can only be grown in tropical climates with wet seasons and… _

"_Granger?" _

_She looked up, and there in all his glory was a sweaty, shirtless Draco Malfoy. He was staring at her unabashedly, with his mouth slightly open and panting and his eyes lingering over her clothes. Oh, Merlin, his body! – It was sculpted and firm, with chiseled biceps and a sharp v-cut just above his… _

"_Didn't know you were into such Muggle clothes," Broke her dangerously teetering train of thought. He was grinning wolfishly from ear to ear. _

"_Malfoy!" She screeched, covering herself with her heavy textbooks. "What are you doing here? Wait no – better yet, WH–why are you shirtless?" _

_He smirked sexily. "Taking my daily jog, Granger. Didn't know you'd be here, everybody goes to Hogsmeade on the weekends."_

"_Yes, well, I had a lot of studying to catch up on." Her cheeks flushed. _

_There were a few beats of silence and inside, her head was screaming at her to continue the conversation. _

"_Do you want help with it?" He had beaten her to the punch. _

"_I'm sorry, what?" _

_He raised an eyebrow and backed away with his hands in the air. It was such a Muggle thing of him to do. "I was just offering…"_

"_No!" She blushed. "It's fine, I'd really like that." She mumbled. _

_His eyes widened for a nanosecond, in shock. A beatific smile graces his face. _

"_And for the record…" She hissed. "I'm not asking for your help, you offered." _

_He grinned, nodded and sat down. _

_She froze. _

_A beautiful, shirtless and sweaty man in such close proximity was unnerving. He must have sensed this because his grin grew wider and he shifted even closer. He put his lips close to her ear and whispered, hot air fanning across her cheek, _

"_Does this make you nervous, Granger?"_

_That was the hardest time she had ever blushed. "Of course not, Malfoy! Just – just try not to distract me from my work," She snapped crossly, trying to ignore her thumping heartbeat. He chuckled and nodded. _

_For the next half-hour he had gone over every fact in the book with her again, flawlessly flowing with her. _

_He'd never know, but she had already learnt everything from the book the night before. _

"_Well," He paused. "Looks like you've done and learnt everything there is from it," He said, once finished. _

_She nodded, blushing. "Thanks," _

_He smirked. "No problem, Granger," He said smoothly. "Anytime."_

_She gathered her books and stood up. And then she saw how close of proximity they were. Frozen, she couldn't do anything but stare into his eyes and his beautiful face. His eyes bored into her and were full of hunger and of passion, it was unnerving. It was confusing. And then she didn't know what came over her, but she tip-toed on her feet and stared right back to him – fire on water. Then, she placed a small, practically non-existent kiss on his cheek. _

_Why she had done that, she'd never know. _

_But his eyes widened in shock and his body stilled. _

_Her insides turned to jelly when she realized what a mistake she had done. He hated her. What was she thinking? Kissing him? Even if it was that innocent – they were rivals. _

_Without thinking (again), she turned and ran away, noticing how he was still frozen on the spot. She swallowed back tears and as soon as she got to the dorm, threw two things – all the books, into the rubbish bin – and herself, onto the bed. _

_That was the day she realized she was hopelessly and utterly in love with Draco Malfoy.  
_

From that day forward, she avoided him as much as possible. She stopped going to their nightly silent study sessions in favor of her room-secluded ones by herself. At Heads meetings she would act as void of emotion as possible and she would avoid calling him _Draco, Malfoy _or even _Ferret_. And over time, he stopped giving her meaningful looks in the hallway and subtle touches in class.

She didn't know what to do with her life.

She had tried to date other guys – first came Thomas Dean – but she should have listened to Ginny in the first place. Second was Seamus Finnigan and third was Theodore Nott. None lasted over two weeks.

"_Granger."_

She stiffened and turned around. The air suddenly became from very inviting and lovely to a freezing cold that pricked at her skin.

"M-M-Malfoy." She gritted her teeth.

He was looking perfect, as usual. His blonde hair was dusted with snow and his cheeks were rosy. He was breathing hard, as if he had run here. She wanted to kiss him. But she refrained herself.

"What are you doing here alone?"

She shrugged. "Nothing else to do."

He was silent for a few moments.

"You?" She squeaked.

He gazed at her thoughtfully. "Nothing to do, either."

And they stayed there in their spots, saying – doing nothing. She wanted to scream. But because she was cursed with a big mouth, instead of a scream, out came –

"LookDracoI'mreallysorryforkissingyouont hecheekIdidn'tknowwhatcameovermeIguessIwa sjustreallyreallyreaallythan kfulthatyouhelpedmeorIdon'tknowmaybeit'sthefactthatyouwereshirtless andsittingtosclosetomeorthef actthatIfindyouirresistableb utI'msosorryforanytroublethathas causedyou – " She took a deep breath to calm her panicking mind. "Oh Merlin," She covered her face with her hands, tears threatening to fall as the voice at the back of her mind, full of doubts - had taken control.

He looked dazed, as if someone had sucker punched him.

"You called me Draco…" He said, looking stunned, stumbling towards her clumsily. Draco Malfoy never stumbled.

A rosy blush tinted her cheeks. "That's all you got out of that horrid speech?" She scowled and hid her face in her scarf.

When she looked up, he was kneeling below her, on his knees.

_What the–_

"Hermione." _Hermione?_ "I heard everything you said." He said solemnly. Her heart rate tripled as he grasped her hands in his, urgency filling his eyes. "And I never got to return the favor," A smile graced his kissable lips as he leaned in and kissed the very tip of her nose, where the first snowflake had fell upon.

She felt it all the way down to her toes.

And when she looked at him, she saw in his eyes the love she had always been wanting. He loved her too, and they didn't need words to prove it. She felt free and never as happy as she had ever been – as he cupped her face in his warm hands. Her rosy cheeks against pale skin and snow-dusted hair matched his. And when their lips met, she felt endless.

When he pulled his lips away from hers', he grinned cheekily and their noses touched.

And that voice at the back of her head, it shrunk and shrunk and shrunk until–

"Merry Christmas, Hermione."

_**End.**_

* * *

**A/N:** I apologize for the sloppy editing : l I don't have a beta and I have this condition where while re-reading, no matter how hard I try, I don't focus on the little spelling errors or whatever and more on the content – many sorries Don't forget to review! No flames, please. xx


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